Coalition of women’s advocates demands release of Nepali women unjustly imprisoned for abortion

Ipas has joined a coalition of Nepali and international organizations calling for the immediate release of more than 50 women held in Nepali prisons on charges of obtaining abortion.

Ipas has joined a coalition of Nepali and international organizations calling for the immediate release of more than 50 women held in Nepali prisons on charges of obtaining abortion – an act that has not been a crime in Nepal since September 2002.

On March 8, International Women’s Day, the coalition published in five national newspapers in Nepal an appeal to the government of His Majesty King Gyanendra for the women’s immediate release. The statement calls attention to human-rights violations to which the women are being subjected and to the fact that most of those being held are poor and illiterate. In Nepal as in other countries – even where abortion is legally restricted – affluent women can easily obtain abortions and are rarely subject to prosecution, suggesting that their imprisonment represents class as well as gender discrimination.

In September 2002, King Gyanendra officially approved a law making abortion available on request in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and permitting it up to 18 weeks in cases of rape or incest. The law permits abortion at any time in case of endangerment to the woman's life or serious fetal impairment.

Previously, Nepali law did not allow abortion under any circumstances, and women suspected of having abortions were vigorously prosecuted. Fully one-fifth of women in Nepali prisons were there on charges of abortion and related offenses, including infanticide. In fact, many of those now imprisoned suffered miscarriages or stillbirths.

Unsafe abortion reportedly accounts for half of all deaths of women related to pregnancy in Nepal, which has Asia's second-highest maternal mortality ratio — estimated at 830 deaths of women for every 100,000 live births.

Ipas has been providing technical assistance to the Nepali government to ensure that the new law regarding abortion is implemented effectively. The government has created a Technical Committee for Comprehensive Abortion Care (TCIC) to educate and train providers in high-quality abortion-related care and to set up a model service unit.

"These are crucial and commendable steps, but government action is also needed to ensure the release of the women currently languishing in prison on abortion-related charges. These women have suffered enough," said Mary Luke, Ipas Executive Vice President for Programs, who has been in charge of Ipas programmatic efforts in Nepal.

In addition to Ipas, the groups cooperating to secure the release of women unjustly imprisoned include the Forum for Women, Law and Development (FWLD); the Center for Reproductive Rights; the Family Planning Association of Nepal; the Center for Research on Environment, Health and Population Activities (CREHPA); the Rural Women’s Development and Unity Center (RWDUC); and Equality Now. The coalition also advocates for improving Nepali women’s access to education and legal services, in compliance with Nepali law.

Ipas is an international nongovernmental organization that has worked for three decades to reduce abortion-related deaths and injuries and to increase women's ability to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights. Ipas's global and country programs include training, research, advocacy, distribution of reproductive health technologies, and information dissemination.

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258